TF Bank is a Swedish bank that offers a very competitive free credit card in Germany. The Mastercard Gold has no annual fee and is known to be easy to get by foreigners living in Germany, which is not the case with some other credit cards.
The TF Bank mobile app is available in English, making handling the card easy. However, the sign-up process is only available in German.
These are the 4 steps you need to take to get your free TF Bank Mastercard Gold:
- Apply for the TF Bank Mastercard Gold
- Verify your identity AND sign the Activation Letter digitally within the IDnow app the
- Get Your Mastercard credit card & PIN via postal mail
- Get your activation email & SMS
This guide will take you step-by-step through the application and activation of your free TF Bank Mastercard Gold.
- No annual fee
- English banking app to easily control the credit card
- High acceptance for internationals
Requirements for international customers
In order to successfully apply for your free TF Bank Mastercard Gold credit card, you need to fulfill the following requirements:
- you are 18 years or older
- you have a German mobile number
- you receive a regular monthly income
- you have a German bank account
- you have a valid passport
- for Non-EU nationals: you need to have a valid residence permit with a validity of 24 months after application
- your Meldebescheinigung (in some cases)
How to order & activate your free TF Bank Mastercard Gold
Follow the 4 steps below to get your free Mastercard Gold from TF Bank.
1. Apply for the TF Bank Mastercard Gold
To start your online application, please click on this link. Then click on “Jetzt beantragen in unter 2 Minuten” (in English: “Apply now in less than 2 minutes”).
Hot Tip
If you use Chrome as a browser, you can right-click on the page and click on ‘Translate to English.’ Alternatively, you can click on the translation widget in the address bar. For more details on enabling these functions on Chrome, make sure to read Google’s help article.
Fill in your personal details as seen below:
Anrede: Select your salutation (Frau: Ms. / Herr: Mr.)
Vorname(n): Your first name(s) as stated on your passport
Nachname(n): Your last name(s) as stated on your passport
Straße: The street name of your registered address in Germany
Hausnr.: The house number of your registered address in Germany
PLZ: The postal code of your registered address in Germany
Stadt: The city of your registered address in Germany
Mobilfunknummer: Your German mobile number
Email: Your email address
You only need to tick the box underneath your data if you would like to receive advertisement from TF Bank. If not, you can leave it empty.
Finish by clicking on “Kreditkarte beantragen” (Apply for credit card)
Continue filling in your personal details on the second page:
Geburtsdatum: Your date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy)
Geburtsort: Your birthplace
Nationalität: Your nationality
Familienstand: Your marital status
– Verheiratet – married
– Ledig – single
– Geschieden – divorced
– Witwe/Witwer – widow
Kinder unter 18 Jahren: Do you have kids under 18?
Tätigkeit: Your profession
– Angestellter – employee
– Befristeter Angestellter – fixed-term employee
– Geschäftsführer – CEO
– Auszubildener – apprentice
– Schüler/Student – student
– Beamter – civil servant
– Freiberufler/Selbstständiger – freelancer/self-employed
– Hausfrau/Hausmann – stay-at-home mum/dad
– Rentner – pensioner/retiree
– Ohne Beschäftigung – without employment
Tätig beim derzeitigen Arbeitgeber seit: Since when have you been employed with your current employer (dd/mm/yyyy)
Einkommen (Netto pro Monat in €): Your income (net per month in euros)
Continue by ticking the box to accept the terms and conditions (Geschäftsbedingungen & Datenverarbeitung).
Attention
In some cases, you will see a second tick box above the terms & conditions. Do not tick this box unless you want to buy payment protection insurance from a third-party provider.
Finish by clicking on “Antrag absenden” (Submit application).
The next screen will let you know within seconds whether your application has been accepted (Ihr Antrag wurde akzeptiert!) or not (Leider können wir Ihnen keine TF Mastercard Gold anbieten.)
2. Verify your identity
After your TF Bank Mastercard Gold application has been accepted, you will be prompted to verify your identity via IDnow. You will find the link to IDnow either in the browser window, which confirms your application, or in the welcome email you receive.
Download the IDnow app and follow the process in the IDnow app by uploading pictures of your residence permit. Your passport will not be accepted.
After you have uploaded the pictures, you will need to take a selfie of yourself and sign the activation letter/contract digitally within the IDnow app.
Should TF Bank require additional documents from you, they will reach out to you directly. If you have any trouble during the verification, you can also send your documents via email to [email protected].
3. Get your Mastercard credit card
Once you have successfully verified your identity and signed the contract digitally, it will take 7-10 business days until you will receive two letters from TF Bank:
- One letter includes your credit card
- The other letter includes the PIN number for your credit card
4. Get your activation email
1-2 business days afterward, you will receive the final email and text message confirming the successful activation of your credit card.
Activate your Mastercard Gold for online shopping
To protect your credit card from fraudulent use, all Mastercard credit cards must be registered for the Mastercard Identity Check to use it for online payments.
You can do so via the TF Bank mobile app. Select ‘My TF Bank’ in the lower menu bar and click on ‘Mastercard Identity Check’. You will be prompted to fill in your German mobile number, which you used during the application. Next, choose your own password.
That’s it. Now you are able to use your TF Bank Mastercard Gold online as well as offline.
Conclusion
The TF Mastercard Gold is one of the easiest free credit cards to get in Germany as a foreigner.
Be aware that you need to settle your credit line regularly to avoid getting charged high-interest rates. For any other questions regarding your TF Bank Mastercard Gold, you can also find the FAQ section from TF Bank in English.
Good luck with applying for your TF Bank Mastercard Gold! 🍀
